Super Bowl Predictions

[Jabro]

Originally Posted by nookandcrannycar

Has a lot more rebuilding been done since 2008 ? I spent almost a month there in 2008 volunteering for Habitat for Humanity. I worked in the Florida neighborhood in the 9th Ward and in Musician's Village. I didn't get over to the West Bank (going over the Crescent City Bridge), but I drove all over the rest of the city and through most of St. Bernard's Parish -- From the Orleans parish line through Arabi, Chalmette, Violet etc., down to Camp Hope in St. Bernard. I took thousands of pictures. I was amazed at how little had been done in the 3 years (at that time) since Katrina. Despite it's problems, there is something about New Orleans that just pulls me in. It isn't a dull place to visit.

I moved here after 2008, so its hard for me to judge how much has improved. However, I can say Arabi and Chalmette look like something you'd see in a third world country, I was in Chalmette just last week and could not believe how run down it was, and I've lived near some bad places in my life.

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by Jabro

I moved here after 2008, so its hard for me to judge how much has improved. However, I can say Arabi and Chalmette look like something you'd see in a third world country, I was in Chalmette just last week and could not believe how run down it was, and I've lived near some bad places in my life.

A company called Onboard Informatics compiles lots of stats for each zip code in the U.S. that is at least somewhat residential (some post offices have their own zip codes so there isn any info for those, and there are other exceptions. I remember looking at that info before driving to St. Bernard. The income level in both the Lower 9th on the Northwest side of the Parish line and Arabi on the Southeast side of the Parish line are both very low, yet one side has a crime rate through the roof and the other side vey low. Both sides being racially nearly homogenous with different majorities in each. When I later drove through the area (and I can't remember if I was driving on LA 39 or LA 46) there was a St. Bernard Parish 'Law Enforcement' Substation literally just a few feet over the line into St. Bernard Parish. It was eerie. Almost like a checkpoint. First time I'd had that feeling in the U.S. (and I've been to the worst parts of LA, SF, Oakland, Richmond CA, Philadelphia, NYC, DC, Camden NJ, and Patterson NJ. Only the worst part of Mobile, AL has given me that feeling since.

So many damaged areas of Orleans Parish had damaged, twisted, and rotted out buildings, but some semblance of a building was often there. In contrast parts of Arabi, and other parts of St. Bernard Parish looked like the destroyed parts of Biloxi (near the beach)....just flattened.